"Deep-sea mining meeting closes without resolving whether mining can start in July", 31 March 2021

As meetings to oversee deep-sea mining on the high seas draw to a close, it remains unclear whether regulators will allow it to commence in the near future.

At the March 7-31 meetings in Kingston, Jamaica, of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the U.N.-associated body responsible for regulating deep-sea mining in international waters, delegates were divided on this key issue. Some member states, such as Nauru and China, supported pushing forward with mining, while others expressed doubt. For instance, during the meetings, both Vanuatu and the Dominican Republic officially announced their support of a “precautionary pause” until more scientific information is available about the impacts of deep-sea mining. Several other countries have also previously called for a pause, moratorium or even a ban, including Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Fiji, France, Germany, Micronesia, New Zealand, Palau, Panama, Samoa and Spain.

However, observers of the recent ISA meetings said there was no clear view whether the ISA will permit mining to begin and that delegates didn’t have sufficient time to discuss these concerns at the meetings.

Germany, Costa Rica and other nations have also accused ISA secretary-general Michael Lodge of diverting efforts of some ISA council members to slow down the mining approval process, according to the New York Times. Lodge’s position requires him to be a neutral facilitator, but some diplomats have said Lodge has abandoned neutrality.

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